In general, a facsimile machine is a machine which is used for transmission and reception of a content of paper which employs a roll of thermosensitive recording paper wound in one direction for use in reception.
In the past, the rolled recording paper has had a problem of being curled into the same direction as it has been wound, even after it has been drawn out and prepared or recorded upon.
In a few facsimile machines developed recently, a flattening apparatus which flattens recording paper to prevent curling in a direction opposite to the direction it has been wound is provided.
FIG. 1 shows such a conventional apparatus for flattening recording paper of a facsimile machine which includes a groove 34 positioned between a flatten roller 32 and a roll of thermosensitive paper 33. The apparatus further includes an underside plate 36, the lower end surface of which becomes juxtaposed with the surface of the groove 34 when a cover 35 which is rotatably hinged on a main body 31 of the machine, and on the underside of which the underside plate 36 is attached, is closed. A spring 38 is mounted on the underside of the cover 35 so that a thermal print head 37 can press the thermosensitive recording paper 33 against the flatten roller 32 when the cover 35 is closed.
When a reception signal is received, a motor (not shown) is activated causing power to be transmitted to the flatten roller 32 in the body 31 through a power transmission means. This causes the flatten roller 32 to rotate in a clockwise direction with respect to the paper to transfer the thermosensitive paper 33, thereby allowing the thermal print head 37 to print received signals on the thermosensitive recording paper.
When the thermosensitive recording paper 33 is being transferred, the thermosensitive paper 33 having been rolled in one direction is continuously unrolled equivalent to the transferred length. The thermosensitive recording paper 33 being transferred is flattened while the paper 33 passes through a V-shaped gap between the groove 34 on the body 31 and the underside plate 36 on the underside of the cover 35, so that the thermosensitive paper 33 can be transferred smoothly by the rotation of the flatten roller 32.
That is, although the thermosensitive recording paper is transferred unrolled from the roll, the thermosensitive recording paper always tends to roll again into the same direction as it had previously been rolled. The thermosensitive recording paper 33 being transferred with such a tendency passes through the approximate V shaped gap formed by the groove 34 on the body 31 and the underside plate 36 fixed on the cover 35, so that the thermosensitive recording paper 33 is transferred after being flattened by a flattening force exerted thereon by the underside plate 36 in a direction opposite to the initial direction of the wind.
However, in such an apparatus for flattening recording paper, the thermosensitive recording paper 33 between the groove 34 and the underside plate 36 stays in a V shape even if the machine is not in operation. Thus, after completion of a facsimile reception, the thermosensitive recording paper would have the tendency to be folded in a direction opposite to the initial direction of wind. When the machine goes unused for an extended period, the thermosensitive recording paper 33 transferred in a folded condition when the flatten roller 32 rotates in the next reception operation.
Thus, because the discharged paper is not smooth and possesses a V-shaped fold, the quality of the printed paper is low.